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Sith Order
The Sith Order, as presented on this page, refers to the Sith Order as it exists in the Galactic Empire in the Star Wars - Alternative Timeline Setting, and not the Canon Sith Order. It differs from the Ancient Sith and from Vitiate's Sith Empire. Organization and structure The Sith Order aims to be the only martial, widespread and politically influential Force User organization. Based on the Revanite beliefs, that the people must be protected from the Force, by powerful Force Users, and therefor must be lead by powerful Force Users. The Sith are organized in Sith Houses, which aren't strictly speaking "families" but more like clans - typically composed of many families - though the leading family typically (but not always) trace their heritage back to the founding member of the house - the reigning leader of a Sith House is called a "Darth". Membership The Sith Order claims all suitable candidates for their organization - realizing that those who are not "controlled" by another (Stronger) Sith, run the risk of being lead astray. However, the Sith Way also demands culling the weak from the capable - and teaches principles on how to nurture strength and capability in a person. The Sith ways are often thought of as brutal and inhumane - but conflict is what causes any individual or organization to grow stronger. The Sith claim all Force Sensitive members who are humanoid, and send them to Korriban for training. These candidates are called "Sith Prospects" - and they are the lowest members of what is called the "Sith Hierarchy". The Sith Hierarchy The Sith Hierarchy is essentially the "structure" of the Sith Order. Lowest Tier The Lowest Tier consists of Sith Prospects. When a person is discovered to be Force Sensitive, provided they don't fall into some sort of very specific criteria, will always be assigned as a Prospect, under the nearest (Geographically) Darth. Some exceptions exist, such as certain species will always fall under the domain of Certain Noble Houses, and relatives of the Sith will always fall to the house they are related to. Prospects are viewed as Property of the Darth that they are assigned to, who in turn has to prepare them for further training as a Sith - teaching them the basics of Sith Philosophy and the ways of the force, including Imperial Etiquette and so forth. The Second Tier The Second Tier are Acolytes (the Empire officially calls them "Cadets" - but the Sith Order formally uses the title of Acolyte). When Prospects reach the age of 12, they are sent to be trained on Korriban (unless found after this age - in which case they are sent to Korriban at the nearest possible time, after a year of training as a prospect has taken place. As Acolytes, the hopefuls progress through, potentially, multiple ranks - though the Sith do not formally recognize this as an advancement of status in the hierarchy. It's strictly a local custom. The goal of the Acolyte is to graduate the trials, which traditionally happens around age 15 (or equivalent) - though it isn't unusual for it to happen later, in cases where the Acolyte was a late discovery. Many do not make it that far - either failing their trials or simply not surviving. Less than 40% come out on the other side. Those who fail their trials can still advance in the Hierarchy or find other positions within the Empire - but those that cannot find such positions are doomed to live the rest of their lives on Korriban - contained there, living examples of failure and existing merely as stepping stones for the Acolytes to come - teaching them the harsh lesson that some people are expendable and that some people have no meaningful future. The Third Tier The Third Tier are Overseers. Now, there are technically speaking multiple ranks of Overseers, but again - the Sith Hierarchy doesn't formally recognize the difference (Note - the Grand Overseer is not of this Tier; his title simply indicates his office). The Overseers are the instructors on Korriban - made up of those who did well, but ultimately failed their trials - and also weren't found suited for the Imperial Guard, nor for Imperial Intelligence (both of whom recruit a substantial amount of the rejects). The Overseers are extensively trained by the Grand Overseer, ensuring that they can actually teach the lessons they are supposed to. The training under the Grand Overseer often takes a few years, and those who don't manage well enough are sent back to the Camps as Junior Overseers - doomed to a life as what is essentially Janitors. Those who do well are paired with more experienced Overseers, as Assistant Overseers - learning from their betters until they are ready to teach on their own. The idea of having failures teach the next generation of Sith is very much a strange one - but if successful Sith were asked to train the future Sith, they would impose their own agendas and ideas upon the Acolytes - their own experiences of the real world. The Overseers have only one hope in their life - to be promoted to the Rank of Senior Overseer, (of which there are only ever 3 at a time). Senior Overseers retire after 5 years - allowed to leave Korriban. The Overseers teach exactly what they are supposed to teach their students - but they also teach something else - not to trust in authority figures, but to trust in the consequences they can impose - and more importantly, that one has to strive to surpass ones teachers. The Fourth Tier The Fourth Tier holds the Imperial Guard and Imperial Intelligence Assassin Wing. Both of these military units fit into the Sith Hierarchy, because practically all members are former Acolytes who could not complete the trials, but were otherwise still suited for service in the Empire. There are many decent advancement opportunities in both branches. Rumor has it, that acolytes selected for the Agency are sent out as spies - essentially just living a normal life somewhere - perhaps occasionally asked to spy on someone, assassinate someone or perhaps smuggle teams in and out - but mostly just a normal life, writing the occasional reports back to the Empire. The Imperial Guard is an extremely prestigeful unit - all members, regardless of internal rank, count as Commissioned Officers of the rank Lieutenant (unless their titles internal rank suggests higher status) towards other military units. They are the Empire's Elite Soldiers and Special Forces, used to guard the estates of Sith Nobles as well as many other important Imperial Locales. The Guard only recruits men and only humans or favored species (Korribani, Ziosti, Zabrak, Chiss, Miraluka, Echani, Arkanian, Mandalorian (humans) or several non-loathed variants of sub-human). These demands are to ensure that the Imperial Guard look incredibly uniform. All other candidates who are viewed favorably but not good enough to go to the trials, are sent to Intelligence, trained as spies, assassins or operatives (essentially the same training as the Imperial Guard - but with no intention to be used for ceremonial duties - and more angled towards deniable black-ops missions). The Fifth Tier The Fifth Tier is the Sith Apprentice. Those few who graduate from Korriban are offered back to the House that held them as Prospects. They will study there, or somewhere else, for no less than 5 years. After 5 years, it is possible for them to be promoted to the 6th Tier. Apprentices are well respected in Imperial Society, acting with the Authority of the House that they train under. They carry light-sabers and are indistinguishable from higher ranking members of the Hierarchy to the common man. Reaching the rank of Apprentice, for the most part, means that one is set in life. There are still hardships, abuse and danger ahead, but the vast majority of all Apprentices eventually graduate. Apprentices become members of the Houses they train within - and are formally adopted into them. That is to say, they are not adopted in the normal "parent-child" sense, but in clan-like sense. There are some apprentices who never advance - these are referred to as "hounds". The Sixth Tier The Sixth Tier is Sith Lord - indicating admittance into the formal ranks of the Sith Aristocracy. There are generally speaking three ways which the Apprentice can Graduate to this rank though - all of them requiring 5 years at least, spent as an Apprentice. The Apprentice is promoted to a Position of Power (referred to as a Landed Sith Lord) - this Promotion can happen in two ways, the Apprentice can challenge someone inside the same house, for their position, or be appointed by the Darth - or given the position by another Lord, who doesn't want it anymore. The Apprentice can undertake the Trials to become an Imperial Knight - and if successful, will achieve the rank of Sith Lord - and Imperial Knight. The same is possible with the Sith Inquisition. Sith Lords who are not already members of a family within the Sith House, are usually granted a Position of Power. This means they are made effective hereditary Governors (Lords) of a section of the Sub-territory. Their children will inherit the position after them. Depending on the size of the house and how populated the sub-territory is, Position of Power could be governance of as little as a village, or even a city district. Those who are already members of a family - they typically seek membership in the Knights or the Inquisition instead. Obviously this means that the power levels of members in the Sixth Tier are the most uneven - some are responsible for millions of people, others may lead significant portions of the Imperial Knights while others have no responsibilities at all - and all fall in the same Hierarchal Tier. The Seventh Tier The Seventh Tier is the exclusively used about the title of Darth. Darths sit on the Dark Council and hold seats in the Imperial Senate - making them among the most important people in the Empire. Most Darths have dozens of Sith Lords under them, and members of their house spread across Korriban, the Inquisition, the Knights and more. The life of the Darth is a life of Politics, power and influence. The Darths rarely like each other - the houses are rivals, after all - but they are forced to work together, or all become powerless, because of the Consuls in the Senate. The Eight Tier The Eight Tier are known as the Talons. They are certain special positions that represent extensions of the Emperor's Will, including the Wrath and the Hand - but also other, less known titles. Not much is known about the Talons, and most Darths would not want to give up their seat to become one of the Emperor's Goons. The Ninth Tier The Ninth Tier is the title of Dark Lord of the Sith - overlord of the Dark Council and highest authority in the Sith order. The Tenth Tier The Tenth Tier is formally not a part of the Sith Hierarchy, but is forcibly instated - and it is the title of Emperor of the Galactic Empire. Sith Houses The Various Sith Houses control the sub-territories of the two larger Sith Territories - and through those positions, they gain substantial political power in the Imperial Senate, and while one would suspect that this would cause severe rivalries, due to the appointment of Consuls (non of whom are members of the Sith Order), the Sith Noble Houses are largely forced to work together to achieve anything. Dark Council The Dark Council is made up of every single Darth in the Galactic Empire. While normally, a Sith Noble House can substitute a Darth for a Grand Moff, if there is no current suitable heir - a Grand Moff can never sit on the Dark Council. The Dark Council is the ruling body of the Sith Order - with there being thousands of Sith, but only a small council of Darths, each at the head of their own Sith Noble House, controlling an (typically) important sub-territory in the ISS or OSS. At the top of the Dark Council, the Dark Lord of the Sith reigns supreme, as this person is also currently the Emperor of the Galactic Empire. The Old Ways The Galactic Empire has Religious Freedom, but it also has a State Religion - being one of the requirements made by the OSS upon surrendering. The State Religion is the Sith Philosophy known as "The Old Ways". This religion is practically dead - observed by only a few members of the Sith Order, though prevalent in the OSS. Officially, the head of this State Religion is the Dark Lord of the Sith (who is also the current reigning Emperor of the Galactic Empire), and under the Dark Lord of the Sith, the Dark Council are regarded as the heads of the Religion. The Sith Order (which is ruled by the Dark Lord of the Sith, and the Dark Council) is not the same as the State Religion and is not an institution that represents the Religion - rather the State Religion is oddly beholden to a faction that doesn't hold the State Religion in importance or high regard. Most members of the Sith Order do not believe in the Old Ways, though most do not resent the Old Ways either - the Old Ways were wise for their time, in the eye of a modern Sith, attempting to explain how a Sith should behave in a time where everyone had reason to believe that the Force was a kind of deity in its own right. Revanites Emperor and Dark Lord Revan ushered in new ways for the Sith Order, but after Revan's retreat from the political scene, the so called "New ways" have been slowly dying out. Few of the self-proclaimed Revanites even truly understand the philosophies that Revan stood for - they have simply been affected by their peers, growing up to believe that these are the "right ways". The true Revanite belief is that the Force is incredibly dangerous and in the absence of destroying the Force or allowing everyone to share in the Force - those who are not powerful enough to resist the resonances of the Force should be lead by someone who is. It has become incredibly obvious that the Force is occasionally affected across large areas, by strong emotions and notable actions - and that those who feel the force run great risks of being affected by these waves. The Revanites believe in the Imperial Feudal Structure because it places someone strong at the head of every important space region - and forces these individuals under the control of someone even more powerful - thus allowing someone strong to lead the people in case of the Force affecting the minds of the many - essentially safe-guarding the people from the dangerous of the Force - that way preventing mass casualties from wars between raging fanatics. The Opposition Revan's ways were roughly an expansion upon "The Old Ways", but Emperor Vitiate left those behind when he formed the Sith Empire on Dromund Kaas. The ways of Vitiate are still heavily integrated into the Culture of the OSS, and they are very seductive for members of the Sith Order. Dictating essentially, that the Sith can do what ever they want and adhering to a tribal and violent deceitful culture, the The Opposition is very much alive, and they are gaining support rapidly in the Galactic Empire and are very big in the OSS.